‘I went riding on my bike. With a spanner, pump, back and front light…’

With ‘le tour de France’ in full swing, I recently visited an exhibition entitled ‘Wheels of Fortune. The Story of Raleigh Cycles of Nottingham’ at the Weston Gallery, University Park, Nottingham. This exhibition draws chiefly on the archives of the Raleigh Cycle Company (now Raleigh Cycle Ltd.) held at Nottinghamshire Archives. It has been curated by Nottinghamshire Archives in association with Manuscripts and Special Collections at The University of Nottingham. If you don’t know your lanterne rouge from your bidon, your chopper from your bmx, this exhibition which runs until August 3, caters for all.

‘Raleigh Cycles have long been associated with Nottingham and their products exported around the world. From their humble beginnings on Raleigh Street to the creation of a global empire, Raleigh became a household name.’

The dedicated exhibition space at the Lakeside Arts Centre, uses archival material (including never before seen photographs of staff and social events, advertising material, production and design records, as well as legal, financial, administrative and personnel papers) original Raleigh bicycles (you can’t have a ride though) and multimedia to chart the rise and subsequent fall (Raleigh bikes are now made in the Far East) of Raleigh.

A welcome addition to the exhibition was the number of talks related to the exhibition including Pedal Power: The history of the bicycle, Made in Nottingham: The Raleigh Cycle Archive where Alexa Rees (Nottinghamshire Archives), curator of the exhibition, provided an insight into the Raleigh archives chosen for display and the curation process and Making a Name: Archives, Advertising and Business Icons, 1900-1950.